(Finance) – In 2024, wind energy provided 20% of the electricity consumed in Europe, but the capacity developed during the year was less than half of that needed to meet the European Union’s energy and climate goals for 2030. This is what was stated by the WindEurope industrial group, writes the Energia Oltre agency.
THE ROLE OF WIND IN EUROPE’S ENERGY
Wind energy has been a growing part of Europe’s electricity generation for more than 20 years, and the European Union wants it to grow much more to meet goals to fight climate change and also because it reduces dependence on fossil fuels.
15 GW OF NEW WIND POWER BUILT IN EUROPE IN 2024
According to preliminary 2024 data from WindEurope, Europe built 15 GW of new wind power last year, including 13 GW of offshore wind and around 2 GW of onshore wind. EU countries accounted for 13 GW of this figure but, to meet the 2030 climate targets, the 27 countries would need to build 30 GW of new wind farms per year. Brussels wants wind energy to account for 34% of electricity consumed by 2030 and more than 50% by 2050.
THE PROBLEMS OF THE SECTOR
In particular, the global offshore wind industry has faced a difficult few years due to infrastructure, grid connection and logistics issues, permitting delays and higher component costs. “Investment in offshore wind in Europe has declined and it remains difficult for companies to make definitive investment decisions,” WindEurope said.
“Europe is not building enough new wind farms for 3 main reasons: most governments are not applying good EU permitting rules, new grid connections are lagging behind and Europe is not electrifying its economy enough quickly,” said WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson.